Hiker missing overnight rescued on Buffalo Mountain in Silverthorne

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office is reporting that a man who went missing while hiking Buffalo Mountain on Monday afternoon was found on Tuesday afternoon after an extensive search.

The 74-year-old man, from Texas, went for a hike at 7 a.m. Monday morning at the Ryan Gulch Road trailhead and was expected back home by his wife by mid-morning. However, when he did not return and failed to answer texts, his wife dialed 9-1-1 and he was declared missing at 4 p.m.

Several search teams, dogs, and a Flight for Life helicopter with night vision equipment were involved in the search overnight, but failed to find the man. After consulting with the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC), search teams even tried to use cell phone tower data to narrow the man’s location, and the search continued through the next morning. Fliers were also handed out to hikers in the area.

The man was finally rescued late in the morning after hikers nearby heard him yelling from an avalanche chute on the north side of Buffalo Mountain. The man had become stranded and was unable to proceed without assistance. The Summit County Rescue Group reached the man with medical personnel, and aside from serious dehydration and a few cuts and bruises, he was unharmed. He was taken off the steep hillside trail in a litter with a rope-and-pully system.

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office said the man is recovering at home.

This story will be updated.

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